Chapter 5 - The Snake at the Table
Dominic stood motionless behind his desk. He signaled Enzo with a brief nod of his head, and his lieutenant quickly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him.
The heavy library went dead silent.
"Clara," Dominic began, his voice soft, stepping around the desk toward me. "You shouldn't be out of bed."
"Don't tell me what I should be doing!" I shouted, the emotion crashing over me. Pain flared across my chest, but I ignored it. "My mother’s name is Ellen Vance! We lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Queens! We ate box macaroni and cheese! My mother worked two jobs until her heart gave out! Who is Victor Costa?!"
Dominic stopped three feet away from me. His face was a mask of cold resolve, but his eyes held a raw, dark pain.
"Victor Costa is a monster," Dominic said quietly. "Twenty-two years ago, your mother was the youngest child of the Costa syndicate. When she realized her brother Victor was poisoning their own father to take control of the family, she fled New York with you when you were four years old. She changed her name to Vance to protect you from the war."
I sank into a leather armchair, my head in my hands, trying to process the lie my entire life had been built upon. "My mother... was hiding from her own brother?"
"Yes," Dominic said, kneeling down in front of my chair. He reached out, taking my shaking hands into his broad palms. "Your father was my uncle’s trusted captain. When Ellen ran, Victor killed your father in retaliation. My family spent twenty years keeping your mother’s location secret from Victor."
I looked up, meeting his intense dark eyes. "Then why did you marry me, Dominic? Was it to control my family’s trust? Was it to use me against Costa?"
Dominic’s grip on my hands tightened. His dark eyes burned with an fierce, terrifying sincerity.
"I didn't know you were working the event until two hours before the party, Clara," he said softly. "When I saw your name on the service list, I came to the ballroom to protect you—to pull you out before Costa’s men spotted you. But before I could get you away, the shooting started. You threw yourself in front of my mother. You took seven bullets meant for an old woman you didn't even know."
He lifted my hand, pressing his lips gently against my knuckles, right over the heavy gold ring.
"I didn't marry you for a trust fund, Clara. I married you because from the moment you stood bleeding in my arms and asked if my mother was okay, I knew I would burn this entire city to the ground before I ever let anyone hurt you again."
Before I could answer, a thunderous explosion rocked the foundations of the mansion.
The heavy crystal chandeliers shattered, raining glass onto the hardwood floor. Red alarm sirens began to wail through the corridors, and the sharp, rapid fire of automatic weapons erupted from the front gates.
Dominic moved like lightning. He pulled a heavy black handgun from his shoulder holster, pulled me up from the chair, and shoved me behind his broad frame.
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"Enzo!" Dominic roared through his lapel radio.
"They breached the main gate, Boss!" Enzo’s panicked voice crackled back over the radio. "It’s a full assault! Costa’s men brought heavy artillery! They know she’s here!"
